Top 10 Best things to do in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
Santa Teresa beach
Santa Teresa, located along the Pacific coast in the Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica, is home to many beautiful beaches, breathtaking sunsets and bohemian boutiques. Most famous for being a quaint, quirky and adventurous surf town yet there is so much to explore and visit. It is also named Mal Pais, to describe the area on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. The region encompasses the towns and beaches of Santa Teresa, Mal Pais, and Playa Carmen.
If you want to find out more about the fun and affordable things to do in Santa Teresa Costa Rica, read on for more!
#1 Learn to surf
Learn to surf in the clear waters surrounding the town, It doesn’t matter if you’re either a beginner or an advanced surfer, many surf instructors cater to all levels. Even if you fancy going to try by yourself, Playa Hermosa and Playa Carmen are best suited for people first starting out.
if you instead consider yourself a passionate surf enthusiast, there are many annual surf competitions and events going on along the main Santa Teresa beach. You can sit back from Banana Beach (The town’s most popular beach restaurant & bar) and watch as many come from all over the country to compete.
#2 Visit Montezuma waterfalls
Montezuma Waterfalls
Not even an 30-minute drive from Santa Teresa, is Montezuma, which is home to the wild jungle and wildlife reserve terrains, where you can hike up 20 minutes from Hotel Amor de Mar to the most stunning and majestic waterfalls, spend time gazing up at sky or take a relaxing swim whilst taking in the scenery, this is one experience you simply cant miss.
#3 Visit / snorkel in Isla Tortuga
The number one thing you can’t miss when in Santa Teresa without a doubt is, a trip to Isla Tortuga. It’s only a short boat ride from Montezuma and is home to a white sand, small, yet luxurious island. It’s described as a dream destination for many and you can also have time to explore the beach. Where, you can sunbathe, play volleyball and bring a picnic to relax all day.
Snorkeling in Isla Tortuga
You can also bring snorkels and dive into the deep waters to experience seeing all exotic aquatic life such as; Angelfish, Porcupinefish, Morays, Needlefish, Spotted Eagle Rays,
Isla Tortuga at Sunset
#4 Wander around the beautiful boutique shops
Although the centre of the town is realistically all along one long and windy road behind the beach, it is full of beautiful, bohemian boutiques that you could spend all day browsing.
Even treat yourself to a luxurious spa day, Santa Teresa is home to a few beauty and spa rooms, I would particularly recommend Alemendra spa & Beauty as they offer a range of relaxing and refreshing services including spa, hair and nail appointments, take off a relaxing afternoon at the beach and then stroll over as they are only a 10 minute walk from the beach too! visit their official website to read on for more : Alemendra beauty & spa.
#5 Try out morning yoga
Wanting some down - time to relax and recharge? Santa Teresa is one of the best places for morning yoga and retreats. There are many yoga studios in and around the town, and a lot of the hotels also offer exclusive morning yoga and meditation classes for free alongside certain packages.
#6 Spend time on the surrounding beaches
Apart from the main Santa Teresa beach that stretches along the town, there are more surrounding beaches. Playa Carmen, Playa Hermosa, and the coastline to Malpais all offer a range of beautiful oceans, long sceneic hikes and if you really want, you can explore the tidepools by dipping your toes in and going for a swim.
#7 Experience the Tortuga Island Bioluminescence tour
An amazing experience you simply can’t miss when visiting Santa Teresa is the bioluminescence boat tour around tortuga island. Start off your day with drinks and lunch on one of the tour boats, which takes you all around the island and surrounding waters, then watch the sunset on Playa Vivos. You can also dive into luminated waters as it gets dark to endure the experience of a lifetime swimming in a sea of stars.
Check out the the Zuma tours official website for more information! Zuma tours : Tortuga Island bioluminescence tour
#8 Eat out at a restaurant
Santa Teresa also has a variety of many unique and enjoyable restaurants along the main town road. Offering a range from traditional Costa Rican cuisine to Asian and Mediterranean dishes, we personally recommend Katana, known for its delicious Asian fusion dishes ranging from bao buns and sushi to duck wraps, this is a place we would definitely return back too.
#9 Ride horses at the beach
Another amazing activity you simply cant miss is the sunset horseback rides down the coastline. You can enjoy the beautiful scenes of the sunset on playa carmen whilst having a joyous ride on the horses. Many group tours set off in the morning an evening for flexibility and prices range from $50-$120.
#10 Rent out an ATV and explore the town
For the 3 months that I stayed in Santa Teresa I saw around 90% of traffic was ATV’s and motorbikes, these seems to be the common modes of transport and I can see why!
Even though renting an ATV for the day is costly, being an estimate of 70 USD a day, it allows complete freedom and is the best and most easiest way to explore the town and jungle.
There are plenty of amazing activities to endure in Santa Tersea all of which will allow you to sit back and enjoy the true spirit of costa rican culture, many of the locals express a phrase of happiness when enjoying costa rican life that is: ‘Pura Vida” meaning pure life and joy this certainly captures all of what the small yet charming surf town of Santa Teresa has to offer.
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